Dark Academy
by Rei0013
Summary: Wren is odd, even for her species. She doesn't look like the others, she can read minds and every night she has strange dreams about a man called "The Doctor." Sorry for the lame title, I really couldn't think of anything.
1. Chapter 1

"_Allons-y Rose Tyler!" the Doctor said excitedly. It was obvious from the warm smile Rose gave the Doctor back she harbored much affection for him, affection he probably didn't recognize. Wren couldn't help being happy watching them, but then the scene dissolved and was replaced by loud banging._

Wren opened her eyes.

"Breakfast!" came the harsh voice of the Headmistress. All at once the small girl was assaulted with the thoughts and feelings of her classmates and teachers, and she had to struggle to block them out quickly. Wren thought she might have been used to it by now, but it seemed like morning after morning the sensation wasn't any less painful.

She stumbled out of bed, donning the shapeless beige dress that was her uniform and exiting her sleeping space into the hallway that led to their Dining Hall.

Wren was a student of the Valentine Academy for the Disturbed, which says nothing about her mental state, but rather tells us her parents did not feel like dealing with an Alazarin. Unlike other little girls of her kind, Wren did not enjoy going to clubs, having multiple boyfriends and spreading lies about those she didn't care for. She rather enjoyed drawing and reading. Instead of black hair, hers grew pure white. Her skin was not the lavender shade customary of females, but rather pale with the slightest touch of pink. The tiny horns poking out of her head were black, not yellow and her eyes were pale lavender, not red. But perhaps the strangest thing of all about Wren was her ability to read minds.

Alazarin were strange, even at an Academy for the Disturbed. In fact, most Alazarin did not end up at such a place, but as was previously mentioned, Wren's parents did not want to deal with her.

And so here she was.

Wren sat down at her usual spot at the back corner of the hall and began to eat her breakfast.

She longed for the day when she could finally leave the Academy. Its students were violent and sadistic, and the teachers even worse. The only comfort she found was in her dreams of the Doctor and Rose, and those were merely dreams.

After her meal, Wren sat with her eyes closed. Even when she actively suppressed her psychic powers, she could still feel all of her classmates' minds surrounding her. Specifically at the moment, she could feel four girls approaching her, fur girls she didn't care for at all.

"So Wren, whatcha thinking about?" one jeered.

"Yeah Wren, what is it?"

Wren did not respond. She hasn't spoken in years, it wasn't worth it.

"She's probably dreaming about her Doctor."

"Doctor who?" asked one of the other girls. Even Wren looked up, somewhat worried. How could anyone else know about the Doctor?

"You know, the Doctor. Her sleeping space is filled with drawing of him, haven't you seen them? His name written all over… And guess what? He doesn't even have horns!"

All four of the girls erupted into shrieking laughter, and something snapped inside of Wren. She could handle insults to herself, but not her Doctor. Anyone but him. She felt her powers explode out of her, sending the four girls flying away. No sooner had she done it than she was tackled by several faculty members and then dragged away from the dining hall, screaming like an animal. Then suddenly Wren felt something pierce her neck, and the world went black.

Wren opened her eyes and her vision was blurred. She was somewhat aware of shackles around her ankles and wrists. However, the world was fuzzy, as if it were submerged under water. And Wren realized something horrible: she couldn't block out the thoughts. They were swirling around her head, deafening and terrible. Wren screamed and clawed at her face, trying to make them stop.

_Doctor!_ she screamed mentally. _Help! Help!_ In her tortured state she didn't even remember that the Doctor wasn't real. And then, overwhelmed by the voices, Wren slumped against the cell wall and blacked out.

This time when Wren came to, it was to an odd noise the likes of which she had never heard before. There was a large blue box materializing outside of the cell. Wren tried to look closer, but her vision was stilled distorted. However, she could still just make out a figure emerging from the box. Wren could hardly believe it: it was the Doctor.

"What have we here?" the Doctor said curiously. Wren whimpered. "Who's there?" That's when the Doctor looked over to where Wren was. He was a slim, tall man wearing a brown suit and long coat with messy brown hair and chestnut brown eyes. Reaching into the pocket of his coat, the Doctor approached the door to Wren's cell. He pointed at the lock with a strange metal tube that emitted a blue light. Wren heard a click and the Doctor entered her cell as if it had never been locked.

"Why do they have you locked up then?" he mused, more to himself than anyone in particular. Wren shook her head. "You don't know? Can you speak?" Wren tried, but then shook her head. It had been too long. "No again? You're an odd looking once, not at all like the rest of your species. I suppose you'll want me to help you then?"

Wren nodded and again the Doctor used his device to undo the locks, and once she was freed, Wren pressed her palm to the Doctor's forehead. He froze and the girl felt the Time Lord's consciousness flood into her own. Wren almost recoiled; his mind was vast, filled with so much knowledge it was almost crushing. She watched as thousands of memories flitted past her mind's eye. She recognized some from her dreamed, but others were new and strange to her. Finally after fifteen minutes of this, Wren let go and the Doctor jumped back from her as if she were made of white hot metal.

"What did you do?" he demanded, breathing heavily. "What did you see?"

_I'm sorry. I needed to be able to communicate with you_ Wren said without moving her lips. Then she noticed something. _Rose is gone._

She felt a sudden twinge of pain run through the Doctor.

"She's gone…" he said, looking forlorn. Then suddenly the Doctor snapped back into the moment. "How did you know about Rose?"

Wren quickly examined a few of the Doctor's memories stored in her mind.

_You finally recognized her love for you, and you left her just the same._

"I had no choice!" the Doctor asserted adamantly.

_Rose, gone… _For some reason this made Wren incredibly sad, but she didn't have time to dwell on it, as the Doctor was drawing himself up angrily.

"Who and what are you? What is your business with Rose Tyler? Are you the one who sent me this?"

The Doctor displayed a paper with the words "Help!" flashing across it, as well as her location. Wren nodded slowly.

_Yes, I'm sorry, allow me to explain. Please sit down._ The Doctor eyes her suspiciously, but complied. _I am Lucinda Wrencia Cordova, but mostly I go by Wren. You're correct in assuming I am unlike others of my kind. I am an Alazarin, a mind reader. I can only assume I sent you that unwittingly in my despair and pain. As for Rose, for the past year or so I've been seeing you in my sleep… I think I've been sharing your dreams._

The Doctor merely shook his head, still breathing just as heavily through gritted teeth.

"Do you even understand what you've done? That's my mind! You know everything about me, you know…" A look of horror and realization came over the Doctor's face. He looked at Wren. "You know my name."

_Yes,_ said Wren. I'm sorry, _there was no other way._

"Oh I bet there was no other way," he said angrily. "I'm beginning to regret setting you free. You had better give me a very good reason why you need my help, or else I have a mind to lock you up and leave you here to rot."

_Her,_ Wren said, her eyes growing wider with fear. The Doctor felt his stomach sink to the bottom of his white trainers.

"What do you mean, 'her?'" he said, both hearts beginning to beat frantically.

"I would stay very still sir, whoever you are. You are in Valentine's Academy, and we do not tolerate the presence of those without horns. Now, step away from the prisoner."

The Doctor turned, his arms raised tentatively. He looked over the woman, who was indeed the Headmistress. She wore her black hair tied tightly behind her head, and her red eyes glared menacingly at the Doctor. Behind her were two large guards who looked as if they might use any excuse to snap the Doctor like a twig.

"So," said the Doctor. "Why is this one locked up, eh? Did she refuse to do her homework?"

"She attacked four other students," said the Headmistress callously.

"Oh is that all? I thought she might have done something truly horrible!"

"Your cheek," said the Headmistress "Is hardly appreciated. But it's no matter. You'll have your uses, just the same as her."

The Doctor swallowed.

"I don't think I like the sound of that," he said.

"What, do you think you have a choice in the matter, hornless one?"

The Doctor glanced over to Wren and then to a door just outside the cell.

"Time to go," he said hastily, grabbing the small Alazarin. And then the Doctor ran for it.


	2. Chapter 2

_Why didn't we just make a break for the TARDIS?_

"Shut up!" the Doctor hissed. He and Wren had finally given their pursuers the slip, but now the Doctor wasn't exactly sure where they were and to his dismay, Wren had no idea either.

_It's not as though they'll hear me,_ Wren asserted sulkily. _You're the only one who _can_ hear me._

"Yes, and I'm really beginning to despise that fact." The Doctor was peering through a hole in the wall, trying to ascertain what was going on outside of the dark room they had found themselves in. He sighed. The guards were examining the TARDIS, feeling all of its sides and trying to find a way in, but to no avail. "Stop touching it!" he said to no one in particular.

_I don't think they can hear you Doctor, _Wren said sarcastically. The Doctor turned and glared at her.

"This is your fault," he whispered angrily, jabbing a finger at her. "You led me on to think you were so innocent, and I helped you because of it. You attacked four of your classmates! For all I know they had you locked up there because you're a murdering psychopath. I've never liked your kind, far too violent—" The Doctor only stopped when he saw the look on the young girl's face. She looked truly sorrowful, an emotion he hadn't seen from her yet. "What is it, why are you looking at me like that?"

_Give me your hand, _she said. _And I'll show you._

The Doctor offered forth a hand nervously, and understandably so considering what had happened last time he had touched Wren. With both hands, Wren pressed the time traveler's palm to her forehead and began to transmit her consciousness. Wren froze just as the Doctor had, and he began to see her memories come into focus.

Wren as a small girl watching her parents drive away as she sat on the academy steps, crying, Wren being shoved down stairs by her classmates because of her odd appearance, Wren being beaten by teachers for no apparent reason, Wren being forced to do back breaking physical labor despite her small size, Wren crying in her room, Wren deciding not to speak, Wren having her first dream about him, Wren drawing him on a her wall with a burned stick she had stolen from the fireplace she had just been forced to clean, Wren having to block the thoughts of others each morning, Wren hiding in her room from her classmates staring at what had become dozens of pictures of him and Rose, Wren losing control in the dining hall, Wren waking up drugged and unable to block out the minds of others, pain, so much pain—

The Doctor pulled his hand away. Wren fell back, tears running down her face. The Doctor looked at her with a sad, sympathetic expression.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

_Now you know, _she said shakily. _This place is hell._

There was a silence between them for a very long time, as Wren rubbed at her eyes and the Doctor merely stared off wistfully. Wren knew exactly what he was feeling, but said nothing. Finally after what felt like forever, the Doctor snapped out of his daze.

"So why are we here in the dark anyways?" he said, suddenly quite chipper.

_We couldn't find the light switch, remem—_

"Bah, light switches, who needs them," said the Doctor. Again he removed the metal device from his pocket, which Wren now knew was called a Sonic Screwdriver. Again, a blue light emitted from the device and Wren watched as one by one the lights began to flicker on. The pair found themselves in a long hallway, still dim despite the lights now illuminating them. The Doctor gave sort of a satisfied smirk and then began down the hallway, beckoning for Wren to follow him.

_Where are we going? _she inquired.

"We're going to find you a way out of here. Unless you _want _to spend the rest of your life in the cell, that can be arranged too." Wren nodded, smiling at the excitement she feel emanating from the Time Lord. She followed after him eagerly.

"I have a theory, by the way," the Doctor said, walking quicker and quicker. "About why your mind came into contact with mine while you were sleeping. I know you theorized that perhaps we were sharing dreams, but that can't possibly be true seeing as that would mean I have the same exact sleeping patterns as you, and also the last time I had a dream with Rose in it was a rather odd dream involving dancing bananas. No, no, I think it has more to do with the sheer size of your mind. Excepting of course other Time Lords, your brain capacity is the one of the largest I've ever encountered. When you showed me your memories, I noticed that every morning you had to shield your mind from an onslaught of thoughts, meaning your mind is completely unprotected while you are unconscious. You probably were subconsciously reaching out for any mind at comparable size to yours, and you found mine. I have to applaud you that's no easy…"

The Doctor slowed, realizing he no longer heard Wren's footsteps alongside his. He looked around uneasily.

"…Feat," he finished frowning. He then began to back track, all the while calling the girl's name. He found her, standing frozen before a door they had just passed. Looking at the door made the Doctor uneasy, as if he could tell there was something dreadful waiting behind it. Wren continued to stare at the door.

_Pain_, she said. _So much pain._

"Wren—" he began, but the Alazarin did not seem to hear him. Instead, she took off through the door. "Wren don't!" the Doctor yelled. He looked around frantically for an alternative, but not seeing one he rolled his eyes and gave a sigh of exasperation, taking off after her.

Eventually the Doctor saw Wren before him and he slowed his running to a stop. Wren had her hand pressed against a large glass tube, and with horror the Doctor realized that what was inside the tube was a small child, even smaller than Wren. He then began to look all around frenetically, discovering that there were multiple tubes filling the room, each containing a child. The tubes seemed to be connected to a large central generator.

"Batteries," he said grimly. "Every last one of them."

_They can feel, _Wren said angrily. _Their pain is excruciating. No one should have to endure this!_

With that the girl closed her eyes and began to focus intently. The child before her convulsed and then went limp, and a screen beside the tube displaying the child's vitals began to flash red as the child flat lined.

"Have you gone off it?" the Doctor exclaimed. "You didn't have to do that!"

_I couldn't leave them to suffer,_ she said indignantly, giving the Doctor a look that might have frozen beer.

"I could have helped you free them! But no, instead you murder it!" Wren was frightened. The Doctor was absolutely livid, his anger from before paling in comparison. "Who gave you the right to decide if they should live or die? No one has that right, no one! And it's not just them Wren. The Headmistress is sure to have some sort of device for monitoring these children, and you just killed one. Now they'll know we're here Wren!"

Wren began to cry, but the Doctor was unmoved. He turned from her to see guards filing into the room from all sides. He scanned the place for some sort of possible exit, and seeing an open door with light flooding in from it, he picked up his small companion roughly and took off in the direction of the door.

The Doctor did not let up until he was sure that they were no longer being pursued. He let go of Wren, who was still crying, and the Time Lord paced about in a circle for a bit, raking his hands through his hair. He looked at Wren and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, then jerked away and paced a bit more. Finally, he came to a stop.

"Wren," he said very deliberately. "I need you to take me to the rest of the Alazarin."


	3. Chapter 3

Davon was a young Alazarin, which was rare considering how few of them existed, but he knew there was another, a girl, who he longed to meet someday. Davon lived in Alazranda, the Alazarin village, and every day he received instruction for Fabian, the village elder. Fabian was kind and benevolent, as all Alazarin are trained to be, but he was nonetheless strict.

At the current moment, Davon was weeding his master's garden, pondering who the other Alazarin might be. Fabian had told him that they knew of her existence, but other than that he told Davon little. When the boy had asked why the girl had never come to the village, Fabian merely gave his student a sad look and said "She is beyond our reach." Tugging at a weed, Davon frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

Davon paused at his work suddenly. He could feel two minds approaching, and they were both minds vaster than any others he had encountered. He looked p, scanning the woods before him for any sign of life. After a minute or so, he saw a tall, hornless man exit the woods, and in his arms was a small child no older than he was, a child with white hair.

Davon was startled. Unsure of what to do, he ran off to find Fabian. He found the elder where he expected to, in his dwelling, before a fire.

"What is it?" Fabian asked serenely, not turning.

"There's a man, and he's holding a girl, and the girl—"

"Yes, I know Davon. I've felt them." The elder smiled, and then stood. "Let us go and greet them then."

"But how do you know the man isn't dangerous?" Davon asked, his eyes filled with worry. Fabian chuckled. Young ones always had so much to learn.

It did not take long for Fabian to locate the strangers, as the man was standing in his garden, examining his plants with a look of absolute rapture. Fabian approached the man, his student not far behind him.

"Stranger, I welcome you. My name is Fabian; I am a teacher in this village. I trust you come here with a purpose?"

The man seemed too distracted to fully comprehend what Fabian had said.

"These plants are amazing. Did you grow them yourself?" he asked.

"Davon tends to them, but yes, I grew them" the elder replied. The man seemed to contemplate this. He nodded slowly, his tongue pressed against his upper teeth.

"Uhuh," he said.

"What is your name?" Davon asked, peering out from behind Fabian. The man smiled brightly.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Well Doctor," said Fabian. "We must thank you for returning our lost sister to use. He indicated the girl draped over the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor frowned.

"Yes, I'll be needing to talk to you about that."

* * *

Once inside Fabian's dwelling, and after he had been given a cup of tea, the Doctor relayed the entire story to Fabian, starting when he had landed outside of Wren's cell. When he had finished, Fabian frowned.

"She has much to learn," he said regretfully.

"Yeah, well I was hoping you could learn her up a bit," said the Doctor. Fabian shook his head.

"If only her parents hadn't been so selfish and delivered her here. She would have grown up among her own kind, and trained alongside Davon. She never would have had to confront such atrocities… and at such a young age. But it's too late now." After his master had said this, Davon gave a quizzical look.

"But sir," he asked the Doctor. "You're a time traveler. Why can't you just go back and change it?" The Doctor shook his head ruefully.

"I'm not allowed to alter the past. What's done is done, and those are the rules."

"Pardon me Doctor, but you don't exactly strike me as the type to follow rules," Davon said. The Doctor laughed in response. He was about to reply when he noticed Fabian turning to face Wren.

"She'll be awake soon," Fabian said, and the Doctor frowned, standing.

"I'll be with plants for now then." With this he left the hut, leaving the Alazarin to themselves.

Wren stirred and sat up groggily. She looked around, and not recognizing her surroundings she could only assume that the Doctor had used her rudimentary directions to find the Alazarin village. Wren had never visited the place before herself, but she had always been able to sense it and the direction that it was in. However, looking around, Wren did not see the Doctor anywhere.

_Where is he?_ she wondered.

"He's safe, don't worry about him child."

Wren was startled. Eyes wide, she looked over to the man who had spoken. He was very obviously an old man, but he had pure white hair and lavender eyes.

_Another Alazarin, _she thought. _And he can hear my thoughts!_

"Yes Wren, I can hear your thoughts. The Doctor informed me of you trouble speaking, so I have decided this would be easier on both of us. I know you're wondering who I am, and I am going to tell you. I am Fabian, and this is Davon."

The old man pointed out the boy beside him and Wren merely gaped at him in shock. After all this time thinking she was alone in the world. Well, not along exactly, but she hadn't expected any of the Alazarin to be her age.

_Can he hear my thoughts too? _she asked.

"Of course I can!" Davon said, slightly offended. "You mean you don't know how to?"

_I do too know how to, _Wren replied indignantly. But then she frowned. _I just don't know…_

"How to control it," Fabian finished for her. "Yes, this is why you felt it necessary to invade the Doctor's mind in order to talk to him. But don't worry, I can teach you how." Fabian smiled kindly, and Wren just frowned in response. She was beginning to remember what had transpired before she had cried herself to sleep.

"_Wren," the Doctor has said. "I need you to take me to the rest of Alazarin."_

_Wren had looked up at him. The look he was giving her was enough to make her want to dig a hole and stay in it for a few years. He wasn't angry anymore, and Wren would have almost preferred it if he was. The Doctor looked very, very disappointed._

I don't know where they are, _she had said tearfully. _I've never left this place.

"_Wren," was all he said and Wren knew that it wasn't going to be enough. She told him what she knew and he had nodded. "All right, let's go."_

_He started to walk away, and Wren scrambled to follow him. Then she had tripped, and fallen very hard. Tears still flowing down her face, the Doctor merely came over and picked her up, not saying a word. He then continued to walk, shaking his head._

"_Oh, Wren," he sighed after a few minutes. "Why?"_

_Wren had not had an answer._

"Wren?" Davon had said to her, interrupting her reminiscing. "You don't have to be sad. Fabian is a good teacher, he forgives you when you make mistakes. I make mistakes all the time!"

"Davon," Fabian said gently. "I need to talk to Wren alone. Can you go tend to the garden? Perhaps you can tell our guest more about the plants he's so fascinated with." Davon nodded, knowing he was being dismissed because his master did not want to Wren to feel any more shame than she had to. He couldn't imagine going through what the girl had. All the same, he left without saying another word.

Hours later, at sunset, Wren emerged from the hut and gazed at her surroundings. She saw Davon, in the garden still. He smiled at her and waved happily. Although she was not in the mood, Wren couldn't help but smile back. Then she continued to look. The rest of the village comprised of similarly constructed dwellings, gardens and fire pits, and was surrounded by forest on all sides but one. The remaining side was a cliff with a perfect view of the sunset, where Wren could see that the Doctor had decided to sit and stare off into the distance. Wren went to him, and sat beside him silently. The Doctor turned.

"You're up then?" he said smiling. "That's good to see."

Again Wren's eyes overflowed with tears, and she fell into the Doctor sobbing.

_I'm sorry, _she said. _All the things I've done... I deserved that cell they had me in_.

"No," said the Doctor slightly alarmed. "No, don't say that. Wren, I…" The words died in his throat. Instead the Doctor silently put his arm around the girl and squeezed her gently in a comforting way.

_I'm sorry, _Wren repeated.

"It's all right," the Doctor said. "I forgive you."


	4. Chapter 4

For the next few days, Wren spent so much time learning she thought her head might explode from it. Not that that was very likely, considering if it were going to explode it probably would have already when she absorbed the entire consciousness of a Time Lord. In any case, she learned rapidly, and when she was not learning she was tending the garden with Davon or speaking with the others in the village. For the first time in her entire life, Wren was thoroughly enjoying herself. In all outward appearances, the Doctor was too, but Wren knew better. Ever since she had absorbed his mind, she realized that she could feel what he felt always, at the edge of her mind but there nonetheless. And she felt deep sadness. And longing.

On her fifth day in Alazranda, Wren approached the Doctor as he was once again sitting on the cliff and watching the sun set. Even if she weren't able to feel his emotions, she would have been able to tell by merely looking into his eyes that he was unhappy. He was completely still sitting there, not even moving to breathe, and he seemed to be staring at something in the distance, but there was nothing there. Wren sat beside him, looking up at him worriedly, but the moment he noticed her there he pulled his face into a smile.

"This place is great, isn't it?" he said. "Absolutely fantastic. So quaint, such nice locals. I never thought for a moment I'd find someplace like this on your planet. Last time I was here they tried to burn me at the stake for being hornless, hardly fun at all. But of course, you already knew all about that…"

_There's something bothering you. What is it?_ Wren asked, not believing the cheerful act for a moment. The Doctor's smile faltered and he sighed deeply.

"I could say something along the lines of 'you wouldn't understand' here, but I won't," he said. "You do understand, because you feel every emotion that goes through my head like your own."

_You know about that?_ Wren asked, and the Doctor smiled sadly.

"Of course I do. I can always feel your mind there, and let me tell you now I know how Eragon felt."

_Erag—? _she began, but the Doctor cut her off.

"Never mind that. Earth story." The Doctor sighed again, shaking his head. Then he turned to face the Alazarin, and as he looked into her eyes Wren could feel the heaviness of what he was about to say. He took in a breath.

"Wren, I need to go back to the Academy. I need the TARDIS. I need to leave."

_But you'll come back right? _She asked slightly desperately. _You're leaving for now, but you'll come back._

"No, I don't think so." Wren could tell as he said that, the Doctor was absolutely serious. She thought about it for a moment, and then decided.

_I'm coming with you._

"No," said the Doctor. "I can't let you."

_Fabian told me that Alazarin live for hundreds and hundreds of years! You wouldn't have to worry about me leaving you alone like a human companion; I could theoretically live the rest of your li—_

The Doctor took hold of Wren by the shoulders. Wren felt the frustration well up inside of him.

"Wren, listen to me. You can't come with me. You're young, and you have your entire very long life to live out, and trust me you'll have _plenty _of time for adventure in that life. But you need to stay here, and you need to spend time with your own people. You need to learn Wren. You don't need to be spending your time hurtling through time and space with someone like me."

Wren looked at the Doctor, biting her lip to keep from crying again. She was sick of crying and everything that had to do with it.

_I understand, _she said sadly, and that's when she felt a new feeling coming from the Doctor: pity.

"You don't understand," he said. "But I didn't expect you to."

"If I might be allowed to voice my opinion?"

Both the Doctor and Wren turned. It was Fabian, and behind him Davon dressed in traveling clothes and with a pack on his back. The Doctor gave the elder a quizzical look, but waited for him to continue before saying anything.

"Doctor, I have known you intention to leave from the moment you came here. You don't belong here… you belong up there." He indicated the stars, and the Doctor nodded. However, Fabian was not finished. "But there is a matter of business that must be attended to before you leave," he continued. "And for that you will need Wren's help, as well as Davon's. The children you and Wren saw in the basement of the Academy must be rescued."

_Oh, _Wren said, frowning. She had almost forgotten about them.

"Wren, why don't you come and gather your things? The boys will be waiting for you at the edge of the village."

Wren nervously looked up at the Doctor, who merely smiled back at her.

"Looks like you'll be having one last adventure with me after all," he said kindly. Wren frowned as she made her way to the hut where she was staying. This wasn't her idea of an adventure.

_But it won't be the same as last time, _she reminded herself mentally, collecting what few things she had that might be useful. _You don't have to feel their pain, and you can save them. _

Wren sighed to herself as she tied on the cloak Davon had given her. She didn't want to go back, but she knew she had to. Somebody had to rescue those children, because if she knew one thing for sure it was that no one in the world should ever be made to suffer like they had to. At last Wren took one last moment of mental preparation and then left the hut and headed for the edge of the village. As Fabian had said they would be, Davon and the Doctor stood there waiting for her. The first thing Wren noticed was that the Doctor was smiling, and she could tell that this time it was a genuine one.

"Are we all ready then?" he asked Wren, and when she nodded he beamed. "Good! Then off we go, allons-y!"

"I take it you like to travel then?" Davon inquired of the Time Lord. He too was smiling, all too happy to actually be on a journey for a change instead of weeding a garden.

"I love it. Nothing better," the Doctor replied, grinning like a fool. He then turned, and the Alazarin followed. They were on their way, for better or for worse.

* * *

*_Oh god, for some reason this chapter was reallly hard to write, so I guess that's why it took so long. And it's short too! Who would think that something so short could take so much out of me?_

_I realize I haven't been leaving nice little notes at the beginning of each chapter like I usually do for my other stories, so in order to make up for it here's a nice little bit of background for you:_

_Wren's character is based on a combination of Elva from Eragon and No 1 from Artemis Fowl, as well a few other things thrown in here and there. She is 13 years old. Davon is 14. Their race on the whole is a violent and malevolent people known as the Acamarin and their planet is called Antares Beta. I'm sure that's some real planet somewhere in the universe that isn't even habitable, but let's not sweat the small stuff, all right?_

_Alazarin in general are slightly based on the Mystics from the Dark Crystal. In the world of SciFi it's hard not to borrow things, because I swear EVERYTHING has been done. Although I guess since this is a FanFiction I'm borrowing to begin with. XD_

_Acamarin horns are sort of like cat whiskers, used for balance and sensing their surroundings. To call one "hornless" is not necessarily an insult, but it does imply that the person is either somewhat odd or they have a poor sense of balance. However, the violent Acamarin have a phobia of "those without horns" (humans), hence the Doctor's story about nearly being burned at the stake the first time he arrived on the planet. I'm sure the fact that he appeared out of seemingly no where in a blue Police Box didn't help him either. Acamarin, despite being technologically advanced, fear magic. That is probably the reason the Alazarin live apart from them in the first place.  
_

_Anyways, that's all. Hope you are enjoying it thus far and will continue reading! ~Rei*  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_*So, I just realized I never mentioned when this takes place. Those of you who have seen the preview for "The End of Time," the Doctor arrives on the Ood Sphere admitting he's procrastinated a bit (and among other things married Elizabeth I), and I'd like to think this is how he spent some of his time, hence why he is companionless. Hope that clears things up a bit! ~Rei*_

* * *

Wren felt almost as if she did not have eyes enough to take in what was all around her. She had never seen a forest before, having been asleep the entire trip to Alazranda, and all she could do was stand in awe of it. The trees that surrounded her on all sides, the minds of the animals she could sense all around, the wondrous beautiful scent: it was all nothing short of amazing.

_Is this how you feel among the stars? _She asked the Doctor. _Like everything in your own little section of the universe is so right, you just want to explode with the rightness of it? Like you know in your bones this is where you'll be happy for eternity?_

The Doctor looked back at Wren, and at the enraptured look on her face. He smiled.

"Yes," he said fondly. "That's it."

_Then I understand now._

Listening to this exchange, Davon chuckled.

"You're just like Fabian," he said. "Most Alazarin have a fondness for the woods, but he takes it to a new level. He lives out here days at a time, talking with animals and listening to the trees. I think if he could, he might live here all the time."

_When we get back I'm spending as much time here as possible! _Wren said enthusiastically. Both Davon and the Doctor paused, looked at the small girl jumping up and down excitedly behind them and laughed.

The peculiar little band continued through the forest, and the mood was generally light all around. However, as soon as they had left the woods Wren was abruptly reminded of their mission, for the faint outline of the academy was visible in the distance. Suddenly the joyful feeling from the woods dissipated as fast as super heated ethanol and was replaced by a cold and heavy feeling of dread. Sensing her uneasiness, Davon slowed his pace in order to walk beside her.

"Are you okay ?" he asked, a look of genuine concern on his face.

_I'll be fine, _Wren replied, trying to smile. Her face more resembled the sort of grimace one wears after tasting spoiled food. She could tell that Davon was having none of it, so she attempted to explain further. _I just never thought I'd have to come back here so soon._

"There's work to be done," Davon said. "They need our help." The boy reached out and took Wren's hand in his and squeezed it gently. Surprised, Wren looked up at him. Their eyes and met, and Wren slowed to a stop. She felt an odd feeling come over her, like none that she had ever experienced before and looking into Davon's eyes it only seemed to intensify. However she was abruptly brought back to the moment when the sound of the Doctor hollering up ahead pierced her consciousness.

"MOVE!"

Davon listened and ran, but Wren panicked and her legs froze to the spot. She didn't understand what was happening, and by the time she realized it was too late. A great dark ship was overhead, closing in.

"Wren, run!" the Doctor continued to yell. "RUN!"

Finally Wren's legs kicked in, but there was nothing she could do to outrun the airship. She could feel it closing in behind her, like the sick feeling impending doom. This was it; she was never going to escape. Then there was a deafening boom and Wren felt her body being flung. And when she hit the ground, everything went black.

_Wren was floating in a great ball of white light. There was no sound, just all encompassing whiteness. Wren found that as she extended her feet there was ground beneath them, and she touched down lightly._

"_Where am I?" she said aloud, and then realizing she had spoke, touched her fingers to her lips in shock. Suddenly she could hear something faintly behind her that sounded an awful lot like her own name. Wren turned quickly. "Who's there?" she asked the whiteness._

"_Wren," said the voice, this time slightly clearer. "Wake up."_

"_Who are you? What do you mean wake up?" Wren asked._

"_Wren you have to wake up please. Don't die."_

Wren opened her eyes abruptly. The world came into focus. She could see now she was in another dark cell of some sort, and the voice had belonged to Davon. She tried to see if she could still speak, but found her vocal chords were still incapable of making anything more than random warbling noises. Still, hearing her Davon jumped and looked over.

"You're alive!" he exclaimed. Then Wren noticed the Doctor in the corner, propped up against the cell wall and staring at the opposite with an almost bored expression on his face. He rolled his eyes.

"Told you she'd pull through," he said. Davon didn't seem to hear.

"Are you okay?" the other Alazarin asked. "You're not terribly hurt, are you? I thought that thing had gotten you for sure."

_No, _Wren said hazily, sitting up. _No, I'm fine. But… where exactly are we?_

"In a cell below the Academy," the Doctor said not looking away from the wall.

"The Doctor said allowing ourselves to be captured was the best way to get into the Academy without too much risk."

_But you have the Sonic Screwdriver, right? I mean they didn't take it—_

"Oh, no," the Doctor said half laughing, half scoffing. "No of course not."

_Then what are we waiting for? _Wren asked, standing. The Doctor smiled and stood as well, revealing why he had been sitting. He had to bend awkwardly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, and he looked on the whole both uncomfortable and ridiculous.

"You to wake up of course," he said with a smirk and then used the Screwdriver to open the door to the cell. The Doctor pushed the door open and gestured to the two young Alazarin. "After you my young horned ones," he said and smiled. Wren caught his eye and giggled.

Davon was the first to exit the cell, followed by Wren and then finally the Doctor. Glad to be free of the cell and able to stand upright once again, the Doctor stretched his limbs and cracked his neck.

"All right then," he said, clapping his hands together once he had finished stretching. "Now onto our valiant rescue. Wren, do you have any idea where we are?"

Finally, Wren was able to get a bearing on their surroundings. They were in a dim hallway with steel grey walls and cells every few feet. There was a door at each end of the hall, but Wren noticed that one door in particular seemed to emanate the same foreboding feeling that the other door had.

_No, I have no idea, _she responded slowly. _ But I'm pretty sure it's that way. _Wren pointed down to the door and the Doctor frowned.

"All right, that way it is then," he said.

"There's pain behind that door," Davon said simply. "And lot's of it."

"Yeah, well chances are that's our door then. All right Davon… Wren… let's be on our way."

Davon nodded grimly and started down the hallway. The Doctor and Wren followed a few paces behind.

"You know," the Doctor said to Wren in undertone. "I think Davon might be interested in you." Wren glanced up at the Doctor who was wearing an amused smile and glanced away quickly.

_What makes you think that? _she replied, directing her thoughts at him only, but trying not to look at him. The Doctor merely laughed.

"Hovered over you like his life depended on it the whole time we were in that cell. Such devotion… it's truly quite touching. And Wren… you know you might do with someone like that, don't you think?" The Doctor leaned over and tried to look Wren in the eye, but the Alazarin girl continued to turn her face away. "Hey, come off it. What is it now? Embarrassed?"

Wren slowed to a stop and then finally looked up at the Doctor, her violet eyes filled with sadness. The Doctor frowned, almost as if he knew what was coming.

_I want someone like you._

The Doctor's face became like stone, emotionless and unreadable, but Wren could feel the regret and loneliness well up inside him.

"No, you don't want that," was all he said. The Time Lord then quickened his pace and Wren found herself standing in the hallway feeling as if her heart might explode.


	6. Chapter 6

_*A bit more background for you! You can go ahead and skip past this if you want to, I just didn't feel the end of the chapter was the right place for this._

_You might ask "Wait, Time Lords are telepathic right? Why did Wren have to read the Doctor's mind to be able to communicate him in the first place?"_

_The answer is because simply she did not know. Obviously given her situation she couldn't just ask, and she did what she felt she had to with her limited knowledge of her powers. Had she been given the same training as Davon she would have known what to do._

_Now, moving on. "But the Doctor can read minds too, he did it to Madame de Pompadour. Doesn't that mean he could have severed the connection between them or stopped her from seeing things he didn't want her to?"_

_Simply, no. The Alazarin mind reading technique differs greatly from the Gallifreyan one. Time Lords read minds through a sort of mind melding, retaining no part of the other party's mind. Alazarin have more of a mind absorbing technique. In fact, in the Acamarin language Alazarin means "Mind stealer" (Acamarin means "life stealer." Quaint, no? XD). Wren literally copied the Doctor's mind into her own, and in order to do so she had to render him incapable of all motion. Had her brain not been big enough to house his, it most likely would have killed her or driven her mad. Basically she is both extremely foolish and extremely lucky. Now this leads to the third question:_

_"If she absorbed his entire mind doesn't that mean that something similar to what happened to Donna should have happened to her?"_

_Well, Alazarin and humans are very different. Her personality is already changing a bit, is it not? Spoilers my friends, spoilers._

_Hope that clears a few things up! (These are actual questions one of my friends asked, so I figured other people might have them as well)._

_Now read! XD ~Rei *  
_

Davon was standing half way down the hall, transfixed. However it wasn't by the door and the evil radiating from behind as it probably should have been. He was too distracted by what had just transpired between the Doctor and Wren. Wren looked as if she were on the verge of tears, and the Doctor, who was now walking brusquely down the hall, seemed somewhat shaken as well. What could have happened to cause this?

"What happened, what's wrong?" Davon asked.

"Never you mind," the Doctor said, pushing past the boy. The young Alazarin watched the Doctor continue down the hall and could tell from his very body language that he was distressed. Davon turned back to Wren, who had not moved and was staring blankly at the wall before her. Concerned, Davon approached her.

"What happened?" he repeated. Wren shook her head sadly.

_Nothing, _she replied. _It's stupid, it's completely stupid._ She looked up at Davon and was about to say more when they were interrupted.

"Davon!" the Doctor called. The Alazarin boy gave Wren a meaningful look and then went to the Time Lord.

"Hold this," the Doctor said to Davon when the boy had reached his side. He handed him what seemed to be a flashlight and then proceeded to run his hands all over the door and examine it carefully.

"I've unlocked the door, but it won't open. There must be something else, but I can't quite see…" The Doctor paused and took out the screwdriver, aiming it at something he had spotted. "There we are," he said as the door clicked. The Doctor then grasped the door handle and opened it. Again his eyes were met with rows upon rows of children suspended in faintly glowing tanks. The Doctor felt a small burst of rage from within. Only monsters did this to children.

"Alasheru lai ilian, onha en' veaen er mërsan…" Davon breathed. Considering the fact that even the Doctor had no idea what he was saying, it couldn't have been anything good.

"Right," the Doctor said. "Let's get to work then. Davon, I need you and Wren… where's Wren?" The Doctor tried to look Davon in the eye, but the boy just dodged his gaze and frowned.

Turning, the Doctor saw her still glued to the same spot and staring at the same wall. The Time Lord was shot with a pang of guilt, which he realized that Wren could probably feel. He bit his lower lip.

"Wren!" he said sharply and she looked up, her lavender eyes wide. The Doctor arched an eyebrow and motioned for her to come down the hall. Wren complied and began shuffling towards them, the whole time avoiding the Doctor's eyes. When she finally reached them, her gaze remained fixed to the ground. The Doctor swallowed.

"You two… you two try to talk to them. Don't let their pain overwhelm you, tell them help is coming. I'll be working on disconnecting the tanks from the generator without alerting the Headmistress. I don't fancy meeting her again… Once they're all out the power will most likely fail, which should give you time to go for the exit. Then I'll just make for the TARDIS and we'll call it a day." The Doctor smiled, and Davon did as well. Wren merely looked up and blinked and then noiselessly walked over to a tank. The Doctor's smile faltered and his brow furrowed.

"Yes, yes, don't mind me. I've only saved your life three times," he said under his breath.

"Huh?" Davon asked, a quizzical look displayed on his face.

"What? Oh- nothing." The Doctor walked past Davon, the familiar fascinated look of distraction coming over his features. He meandered over to the generator, reaching for a pair of glasses in his pocket and putting them on.

"Now my dear," he said going in to examine the machine better. "What makes you tick?"

* * *

"Wren, that's no reason to not talk to him. He's what, 900 or so years older than you? That'd be the ultimate act of pedophilia."

Wren and Davon were before one of the numerous imprisoned children. Wren had her eyes closed, and her palms pressed against the glass of the tank. The soft green glow emanating from the container illuminated her face with an eerie green cast. She took several deep and even breaths before answering Davon, not opening her eyes.

_Rose Tyler is no more than 10 years my senior, it's no different,_ she said in an irritated tone. Davon sighed exasperatedly.

"But it is different! Rose Tyler is considered an adult by her race. Human lives are so fleeting… Compared to the lifespan of an Alazarin, not to mention a Gallifreyan, the time they spend in existence is like a second. They mature so much quicker, because their time is so limited. So yes, she's ten or so years older than you, but she's comparable to an Alazarin 200 years your—"

_All right, all right enough. I'm trying to concentrate._

Davon just shook his head.

"You of all people should know this; you only have all his memories in your skull—"

_Didn't I tell you to be quiet? _She interrupted again, still not opening her eyes. A vein throbbed in Wren's forehead and her muscles tensed. Trying to reach the captive children was an arduous task to say the least, for it was almost as if each one were shielded by layers upon layers of thick fog. Every time she got close they seemed to fly away from her, and Wren found herself getting more and more frustrated. But then, suddenly:

_Davon! I—oh… oh my. This is not good._

Davon did not like the look on Wren had on her face one bit. Apprehensively he placed his hand on the glass as well, and within moments he understood. A look of horror came over his face and he took off in the direction of the generator.

"Doctor!" he shouted. "We have to get out of here, it's a tr—"

It seemed the Doctor was already aware of this fact, because the blade pointed between his eyes was pretty good as far as hints go. Not only that, but his Sonic Screwdriver had been knocked from his hands. The cross-eyed look on his face might have been comical if the situation was not so dire, and the rather large gulp he took most likely would have added to the effect. But this was about the farthest things could get from funny.

"Davon, take Wren and run. Now. Go," he said low, hurried tone. Davon hesitated, but he would not have had time to act anyway.

"Don't even bother," said the voice of the Headmistress. "None of you are getting out of here."

That was when both the Doctor and Davon noticed the commotion coming from where Wren was. She was screaming and writhing in a desperate attempt to break free from the guards that were pinning her down. Seeing this, the Doctor became infuriated and took a sharp intake of breath through his nose before speaking furiously through clenched teeth.

"Let her go, now. You've made her life miserable for long enough."

A razor thin smile spread across the Headmistress's lips.

"Her? We don't want her anymore Time Lord. We're far more interested in you. We're just making sure the children won't… disrupt things." The guards grabbed Davon by the arms, and all the while smiling, nastily the Headmistress gestured for the Doctor to go forward. "After you," she said evilly. He gave the Headmistress a searing look and complied. The guards brought Davon and Wren behind them.

Davon legs were shaking so badly, he tripped over his own feet and hit the ground hard.

"Get a move on, brat!" one of the guards said roughly and Davon scrambled to his feet nervously. However, no one, not even Wren noticed the boy pocket a silver cylindrical object from the ground on his way up.


	7. Chapter 7

Terrified did not seem good enough a word to describe what Wren was feeling. She was beyond terrified. She was literally paralyzed with fear. The three of them had been led to a room with an operating table of sorts and many sharp and painful looking instruments, and the Doctor had been thrown to the table and strapped down tight. Both Wren and Davon were seated rather violently into chairs and their hands were cuffed behind them.

"You're lucky," the Headmistress said. "You two are going to have front row seats to the procedure."

"And what exactly is that, eh?" said the Doctor, straining to lift his head. "What is it that you're going to use me for? You'll get nowhere."

The Headmistress turned to the Time Lord, still wearing the same chilling smile upon her lips.

"You are going to become the greatest advancement in Antares Beta's technology in years," she explained as if this were some sort of great humanitarian achievement and not a horrifying crime against innocent lifeforms. "Have you ever wondered what the generator supplies? All of the technology of Antares Beta is powered by the minds of these children. Nobody cares about the children at an academy for the disturbed, they're damaged goods. When they are brought to us, we give them purpose. We thought we had our crown jewel when Wren arrived, but then you showed up. We know all about you, Doctor. We recognized you from the drawings on Wren's wall. You're a Time Lord. Your mind alone had more power than every child in that room put together. You could supply us with electricity for the entire planet for centuries."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not going to happen," the Doctor said adamantly.

"And who is going to stop us? These children?" the Headmistress scoffed. She went to a wall and pressed a button. "No Time Lord, it won't be that easy. Doctor, I would like you to meet… _your_ doctors."

The door opened and several surgeons filed in. The Headmistress started on her way out and then paused before one of the surgeons.

"Make sure she sees what becomes of her Doctor," she said before leaving.

With the surgeons closing in, the Doctor began to struggle violently against his bonds. Seeing it was to no avail, he tried to appeal to the surgeons.

"Listen, you don't want to do this, and if you want reasons I can think of about a thousand of them. You can't possibly understand what you're about to do." The surgeons ignored him and began to take down certain tools from the wall. The head surgeon approached the Doctor with a particularly nasty looking instrument, and the Doctor swallowed, looking at it leeringly. "I'm telling you, this is a bad idea. You don—"

The device was touched to the Doctor's temple and the pain that shot through him was excruciating. Every muscle in his body tensed, his back bowed and his arms and legs pushed against the table. His mouth opened as if he was screaming, but no sound came out. Wren felt the pain rebound into her and she shrieked, struggling against the cuffs to curl herself into a ball. When the device was pulled away it revealed a blinking electrode of sorts installed on his head. The procedure was repeated on the other side, and at this point Wren had been reduced to a whimpering wreck. Davon seemed to be fiddling with something behind his back, but the surgeons dismissed it as futile struggling and ignored him.

The Doctor's eyes rolled up into his head and his body went limp, beginning to convulse randomly. The surgeons were about to connect the electrodes to a bunch of nasty looking wires when Davon jumped up unexpectedly, brandishing the Screwdriver.

"Nobody moves," he yelled. "Not one muscle!"

The surgeons stared at him, not sure if they should be afraid or not.

"How did you free yourself?" one asked.

"How?" Davon repeated, improvising wildly. "This is my magic wand! If you don't leave now, I will damn you all with my powers!"

The surgeons seemed frightened by this, but they were still somewhat skeptical. Sensing this, Davon saw that he would have to demonstrate, so thinking quickly he cut the electricity to the room, making everything go pitch black.

"LEAVE," he said in a voice he did not realize he could make. There was much scrambling and screaming as the surgeons stumbled over each other trying to get out as fast as they could. After they had left, Davon wasted no time turning the lights back on going to the Doctor in order to remove the strange electrodes from his temples. The moment the things were gone, the Doctor stopped convulsing and rolled over onto his side, breathing heavily. His teeth were clenched and his eyes jammed shut.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Davon asked.

The Doctor nodded as best he could without trying to move his body much. His chest heaved up and down with each deep breath he took. After a few minutes, Davon looked to the Sonic Screwdriver in his hands and then offered it forth.

"This is yours," he said. Opening one eye and still speaking, the Doctor reached for the Screwdriver and nodded as a way of thanks.

"We should probably get going," Davon said. "I'm sure they'll be back once they've realized what's happened." Hearing this, the Doctor nodded once again and forced himself to stand.

"Where's Wren?" he asked in a pained voice. Davon shuffled his feet and gave the Doctor and uneasy look.

"She's right here," he said. "She's a little…"

The Doctor looked over to Wren. The girl was shaking and her eyes were jammed shut.

"Oh no," the Doctor breathed, realizing what had happened. She had experienced the same exact pain that he had, because she felt everything he did as if she were feeling it herself. And on top of that, she had already not been speaking to him and was most likely still extremely angry. The Time Lord knelt before her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Wren. Wren. Look at me. I need you to look at me."

Wren opened her eyes wide and they were filled with terror and pain, but she did not look at the Doctor.

"Wren," he repeated, and she just whimpered. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. Her small body stiffened under his embrace. "I'm sorry," he said very quietly and Wren went limp in his arms. The Doctor reached around the chair and undid the handcuffs, freeing her from the chair and then helped the small Alazarin to her feet. Wren looked up at him, making sure to look the Doctor right in the eye.

_I'm sorry too, _she said guiltily. _I didn't mean_—

The Doctor held a finger to her lips, quieting her.

"Not now, there'll be time later." He turned to Davon, who nodded, and then he took Wren by the wrist. "We have to go. Davon, lead the way."

The three took off at once, heading once again for the horrifying place in which the children were being held against their will. This time the Doctor wasted no time in running straight to the terminal next to the generator and beginning to type so fast that his fingers seemed to blur.

"What are you doing?" Davon asked.

"Overriding the security system so we can set these children free," he said not taking his eyes from the screen. Suddenly the Doctor's fingers froze over the keyboard and he swore loudly, his face twisting into an expression of fury. "And would you look at that, an alarm just tripped," he said angrily. "Brilliant! Just wonderful! Fine… Wren! Davon! Make sure the exit is clear!"

_But what about_—

"I'll be fine, just do it!" he ordered. The Alazarin both hesitated and the Doctor lost his patience. "Go!" he barked. Davon caught the Doctor's eye and nodded grimly, taking Wren by the wrist and tugging her violently. The Doctor turned from them to the generator, approaching it with a look of a determination. There was a large red button to the side of it, an eject button of sorts that would cause a cataclysmic systems failure and cause all of the pods to open, freeing the captives. Or at least that was the theory. For all the Doctor knew, it could end up being a self destruct button as well. That was a possibility the Doctor very much did not want to consider.

Swallowing anxiously, his hand hovered over the button. Just as he was about to bring his hand down upon it when he heard the one voice he was dreading the most.

"Don't move Doctor, or I will instruct my guards to attack you," the Headmistress said. The Doctor turned to see that he was surrounded by at least 15 or so of the large men. He glared at the Headmistress defiantly and slammed down on the button.

"DOCTOR!" he heard a voice shriek. He only had a split second to look up and realize that the voice belonged to Wren before he was tackled to the ground violently.


	8. Chapter 8

_* PHEW! Last chapter! Man that was a crazy one to write! I was on vacation in Florida for the last week without a computer, so I had to wait a little while, and I was hoping to get this all finished up before The End of Time was released, but alas, didn't work out that way I guess. _

_I think this chapter might be the best. It's certainly the longest... XD_

_Have fun ~Rei ^-^_

_P.S. Couldn't resist at least one ginger crack. lol *_

_

* * *

_

_Wren had been going to collect her things when the Doctor had taken Davon aside to talk to him. It surprised Davon, because as chatty as the man was and as close as he seemed to be with Wren, he had never truly spoken to Davon alone before. What Davon had noticed though, was that the Doctor's eyes seemed to carry some sort of sadness about them, a sadness that never seemed to leave. This sadness seemed to intensify for a moment as he drew in breath, preparing to speak._

"_Listen to me Davon," he said in a serious tone. "There is going to be a time when you two will have to leave me behind, and I can guarantee you Wren is not going to take it well. When that time comes, I need you to trust me. I need you to take her wherever I tell you to go, no matter how much she struggles against you. Understood?"_

_Davon had nodded, sensing the significance of the issue. And when Wren had returned once again minutes later, the seriousness had all but dissipated. Davon hadn't realized at the time just how hard of a promise it was going to be to keep._

Everything seemed to be happening so fast.

"Go!" the Doctor bellowed, and when Davon caught his eye he knew it was time to make good on his promise. Nodding, he grasped Wren's wrist and pulled hard, running towards the exit.

_Where are you going?_ Wren cried. _The Doctor, we need to help the Doctor!_

"No Wren, he doesn't need our help!" he cried frantically. Wren tried to throw Davon's grip and suddenly the boy's anger flared. "Wren, would you stop it? The Doctor knows what he's doing; he's a Time Lord for Alasheru's sake! He doesn't need your help with that, he needs it with this, so open your eyes, stop being so blindly infatuated with him and stop being so stupid!"

Wren stopped struggling for a moment and looked at Davon with a hurt expressionand the boy began to apologize. This gave Wren the distraction she needed in order to finally break free of him.

"Wren, no!" Davon cried.

Desperately she ran back to the Doctor, and to her horror he was surrounded by large and frightening looking guards, the Headmistress behind them.

"Don't move Doctor, or I will instruct my guards to attack you," the Headmistress said in her terrifying voice. The Doctor had given her a look that Wren thought could have stopped the woman's heart there and then. The Alazarin knew what was going to happen.

_No, no, no, no, no, _she repeated dreading the action she knew he would take. The Doctor slammed his hand down onto the button and Wren screamed, drawing the power from she knew not where to speak.

"DOCTOR!" she shrieked at the top of her voice. He turned. Wren felt them his eyes with hers and felt the shock coarse through her body. His shock.

Then all hell broke loose.

The guards tackled the Doctor to the ground and Wren felt once again the feeling of something deep within her snapping. There was a concussion throughout the room and every tank exploded showering the room with finely powdered glass and bluish green fluid. Guards were sent slamming into walls; the generator was all but wrecked. It was like the time before when her powers had gotten the better of her, only much, much grander. The girl could feel her very life energy being sucked out of her body, draining her closer and closer to death as more and more objects were thrown about the room and destroyed. Wren could see the Doctor, standing now, staring at her with his face twisted into a expression that could have been horror, confusion, shock, or all three. She knew something had gone wrong, and no sooner had she thought this than yellow light began to burst forth from her eyes, then her nose and mouth. And then everything was enveloped in the light, and the most peculiar feeling came over her entire. Wren couldn't seem to remember anything for a time, which could have been six seconds or six months for all she knew.

She opened her eyes and everything was different. That is to say, that the way that she saw everything was different. It for some reason seemed to be from higher up, and the colors were ever so slightly different. The Doctor was standing where he had been just a moment before, just staring at her.

"What?" she asked using her newfound powers of speech, but the moment she spoke it felt odd, as if it wasn't her mouth she was using. "Oh wow, that's weird," she said, then proceeding to flex her mouth.

"New teeth, it takes some getting used to," the Doctor said, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

"New… what do you mean?" Wren asked, even though she was pretty sure that she already knew what was coming.

"Well, you can't have expected to survive an explosion of your powers like that, could you?"

Wren looked at the Doctor in horror.

"What have you done to me?" she demanded. "What sort of sick Time Lord power did you use on me?"

The Doctor laughed, which hardly seemed fitting for the situation and only made Wren more uneasy. She was dealing with an absolute madman. The Doctor paused seeing her distraught face.

"Oh, come off it! It wasn't me. You've regenerated, that's all." Wren was thrown for a loop by this statement.

"Only Time Lords regenerate," she said bluntly. The Doctor began to laugh again.

"And just what do you think you are? You absorbed my entire mind, every single memory, knowledge of Gallifreyans, everything. That in itself shouldn't have been enough to trigger it though, you must have…" He paused, as he often did, to contemplate it for a moment and come up with some sort of fitting explanation. It was possibly the strangest thing he had encountered in a long time, the creation of a new Time Lord. It shouldn't have been possible, just as so many things he encountered were not supposed to be, and yet obviously it happened. And the best part was, as far as he could tell, nothing truly horrible had come of it. And that's when it came to him.

"DNA!" he exclaimed. "Deoxy Ribonucleic Acid! You must have picked mine up somehow, could have happened any number of ways, a few hair follicles here, some dead skin cells there. Who would have thought creating an artificial Time Lord would have been such a snap? Brilliant, positively brilliant. That still shouldn't have done it though; you need some sort of energy… Although I do suppose you're bursting with it, Alazarin mind like yours. Not quite the same, but I guessed it worked. An Alazarin Time Lord… Daft, but brilliant nonetheless!"

Wren did not seem to share the Doctor's enthusiasm. The whole experience was traumatic to say the very least, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to cry, laugh, or run for the nearest mirror. Her mind seemed to be exploding with all sorts of random thoughts, things she couldn't seem to control. And the way everything worked was so different. The past, present, and countless possible futures were all flitting about her consciousness, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. She tried looking around, seeing if maybe it would help her get used to the new eyeballs in her skull. Yet the more she looked, the more she realized she had no idea where she was and no recollection of why she was there.

"Doctor!" she heard someone scream and turned about abruptly. Davon was running towards them, but Wren found she couldn't quite place him in the order of things in her mind. She just knew that she _knew_ him.

"Doctor, I'm sorry," Davon said, distraught. "I let her get away. Wren's gone Doctor, I can't find her anywhere! Is she dead? Please Doctor, tell me she isn't dead."

The Doctor merely smiled and pointed over the boy's shoulder. Davon turned, and his eyes grew large with shock. His mouth fell slightly open and it took him a few seconds before he was able to speak.

"Wren you're… _ginger._"

And quite right he was. Wren's new appearance was that of a humanoid girl with long ginger orange hair and freckles, with skinny stick-like limbs. The only thing that set her apart from looking like a normal human being were the small horns she retained and her bright lavender eyes.

"I'm what?" Wren demanded. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you have no idea how jealous I am," the Doctor said, grinning.

"Shut up you!" she snapped, but the Doctor's beaming did not fade. He knew just how a recently regenerated Time Lord could be. "Sorry… it's just… Can someone please tell me why we're here?"

The Doctor laughed even harder, and soon his laughter was joined by that of the children pouring in from all directions. They were free, free at last.

* * *

A few hours later, things were just starting to get sorted out as Fabian and the rest of the Alazarin elders arrived from their village in order to help get things into some semblance of order. Without the Headmistress, Valentine's Academy had fallen into chaos, and without the children powering everything the entire planet had plummeted into a blackout.

"They will find other ways to power Antares Beta," Fabian said serenely once he had enough time to finally talk with the Doctor. The four of them stood on the lawn of the Academy, the TARDIS behind them, all just happy the ordeal was over. "The Alazarin will help. It is time for this race to make changes, changes they will need if we are to survive."

"Well, I certainly wish you the best of luck," the Doctor said, all smiles. "But really, I've stayed too long."

"I guess this is goodbye then," Davon said somewhat mournfully.

"Never think of it as goodbye," the Doctor replied, and Davon gave a faint smile in response. And then after some hand shaking and hugging, the Alazarin began to walk away. The Doctor frowned watching them. There was nothing he hated more than seeing people go. However something was tugging at his hearts, and he couldn't seem to let it go.

"Wren!" he called, and she turned. She started to make her way towards him, and he felt his gut churn in a way he had not experienced in a while.

"Yes?" she said when she had reached his side.

"Well, Wren, I just wanted… blimey, I'm never good at this sort of thing." The Doctor swallowed, his eyes darting around as if he were searching for words somewhere. "Wren, I feel awful that you're not going to have the proper training normally Time Lords get, what with Gallifrey being… gone and all."

"It's okay Doctor," she replied calmly. "I have it all here. Your memories, all right here in my head." Wren had finally recovered from after affects of her regeneration, and seemed to be much calmer and more accepting than before. She smiled warmly at the Doctor, and he laughed somewhat nervously.

"Yeah, there's that," he said. "But Wren… The reason why is, well… when I die you will be the last of the Time Lords. It's quite the burden to bear, believe me, and I just want you to be… ready for it."

Wren frowned slightly.

"But you won't have to worry about dying for a long time to come, will you?"

"It might be sooner than you want to think. After all, all songs have to end right?" The Doctor flashed a quick smile, before swallowing again anxiously. Wren's frown deepened.

"I can still sense your feelings you know," she said with an air of sadness. "It's okay Doctor, I know things will turn out right in the end."

Then she hugged him, squeezing as tightly as she could and not wanted to let go, and the Doctor squeezed just as hard in return.

"I guess they always do, don't they," he said before finally breaking away. He smiled wanly, looking into Wren's lavender eyes for one last time. "I'll be keeping an eye on you Lucinda Wrencia Cordova. Or… I'll try at least."

And then he smiled for the last time, before turning and pulling open the door to the TARDIS and disappearing within. Then came the sound, that sound Wren had only heard once before but would remember for the rest of her life, the sound like some sort of great mournful song that was seldom ever heard. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek as she watched the TARDIS slip away, dissolving into time and space. She stood in that spot for a long time, before a hand on her shoulder jolted her out of her daze.

"Wren, is everything all right?" Davon asked her, concerned. Wren smiled before taking his hand.

"I have a feeling everything is going to be fine Davon," she said. And she believed it.


End file.
